Gavin Grades The Movies

Man on a Ledge

by Gavin,posted Jan 26 2012 10:06PM

Rest assured that Man on a Ledge is truth in advertising; there really is a man on a ledge. In fact that man gets on the ledge within two minutes of the movie and there he stays for most of it. The fact that the title of the movie (which is also said out loud within the first 15 minutes in cheesey fashion) doesn't mislead or lie and prepares you for exactly what kind of movie you're about to see is sadly the best thing about this pathetic excuse for a film.

I don't like bad movies when they aren't aware that they're bad. Not only does this movie not realize it's so bad, but I think the cast and crew thought it was good. It features a script from a 58- year-old guy from Venezuela who hasn't done much that anyone knows about with his career and a director who's only done one film before this and it was a documentary. How the hell did this movie even get made?! It has plot holes so big you can drive a monster truck through them, it's confusing in its logic and almost impossible to believe at all. It's impressive that a major Hollywood studio was tricked into making it, but what's an even better magic trick is how they convinced such an amazing pedigree of performers to be in it.

The film stars Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) who is someone that no one has been able to explain to me why he's famous yet. The guy is like the state worker of Hollywood actors - he's not good at his job, but he's good enough to not get fired. I have yet to see him impress me with anything and I look forward to the day that he does. He's someone that should be in a movie this bad though. What's shocking is that they convinced Ed Harris (The Hours, The Abyss), Edward Burns (Saving Private Ryan, 15 Minutes) and Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, 40-Year-Old Virgin) to be in it and they are all performers who are good at their craft and respected among critics. So....WTF guys?

The film is about an ex-cop who breaks out of prison just to plan a heist to prove his innocence; and yes that plan involves him standing on a ledge. The plot isn't the worst things I've seen, in fact it would actually have made for a pretty funny comedic premise. The issue is that it moves so fast while being too illogical. Perhaps the rapid speed over crucial plot points is an attempt to usher the audience past them before they have a chance to put it together and see that it doesn't add up. Maybe another motive for the quick-step is the try to stay ahead of the audience in its twists and turns, which it fails at doing - if you don't have the ending called half way through the movie, you're an idiot.

It's not that Man on a Ledge is boring that makes it so bad. It will entertain the average person that just wants to pay for a ticket, sit in a seat and chomp popcorn while they watch pretty girls and tough guys for 90 minutes. It's that it's executed so poorly with zero regard for logical storytelling and quality filmmaking that also suckered such wasted talent into its ranks that makes it so bad. And trust me, it's bad. At its worst parts, you'll with you were on that ledge so you could jump off.Man on a Ledge (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: D+